Posts from Sergei Mavrodi – Criminal or Genius?

He graduated from Moscow School No. 45. After graduating from school, he enrolled in the Faculty of Applied Mathematics at the Moscow Institute of Electronic Engineering, which he graduated from in 1978.

After graduating from the institute, Mavrodi worked as an engineer-mathematician at a research institute, and in 1980, he became the head of a group of programmers. At the same time, he was engaged in the then-illegal private production and sale of audio and video recordings.

In 1981, he left the research institute and devoted himself to business. To avoid prosecution for parasitism, he was listed in various low-paying jobs that took up little time /the last one was a night watchman in the subway/, reports the RIA Novosti agency. In 1983, he was arrested for the first time for private enterprise. After his release in 1988, he founded the MMM cooperative together with his brother.

In the mid-1990s, he created the largest financial pyramid in Russia.

He was arrested in August 1994 on charges of concealing income from the Invest-Consulting company he headed. In October of the same year, he was released in connection with a change in the measure of restraint.

On October 30, 1994, he was elected a deputy to the State Duma, receiving 29% of the votes of voters. Since his election to this post, he has not attended a single Duma session.

On October 6, 1995, the State Duma, at the suggestion of the Mandate Commission, prematurely terminated the powers of Deputy Sergei Mavrodi.

In 1995, he ran for the Duma of the 6th convocation from the "Party of National Capital" again. The federal list of the party was headed by Sergei Mavrodi, followed by members of his family: Elena Mavrodi was second, and his brother, Vyacheslav Mavrodi, was third.

After losing his "deputy immunity," Mavrodi went into hiding and, according to law enforcement agencies, hid for some time in one of the Scandinavian countries. In 1998, the investigation into the activities of JSC MMM and its head, Sergei Mavrodi, was resumed...

Personally, I admire this man... To so skillfully swindle an entire country is worthy of respect.

It will be very interesting to hear your opinion...
P.S. Please do not turn this topic into a topic about Yeltsin...

Hmm, DarkMavr... maybe he could start another thread about Father Lenin or Father Stalin? Or perhaps about Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya?

I apologize if I was too harsh (I have no personal issues with you), but

To so skillfully swindle an entire country is worthy of respect.

Go bang your head against a wall.
P.S. Sorry again if I offended you.
My opinion about Mavrodi: he's a lucky and resourceful criminal, but definitely not a genius.

Yeah, DarkMavr... maybe he could start another thread about Father Lenin or Father Stalin??? Or maybe about Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya??

I just watched two shows about him today and decided to create a thread...
I'm "really" interested in knowing what people think...

Added 3 minutes later

Sorry if I'm too harsh (I have no complaints about you as a person), but

Go bang your head against a wall.
P.S. Sorry if that was too much.
My opinion about Mavrodi - he's a lucky, quick-witted criminal, but definitely not a genius.

XEL, it's all good! ;) I'm all for free communication.
On the topic: Isn't it genius to swindle so many people?
And not steal like the others, but just trick them... =)

In general, Mavrodi is a smart person. He played on people's greed. People are to blame themselves. No one forced them to buy MMM shares.

Actually, Mavrodi is a smart guy. He played on people's greed. People are to blame themselves. No one forced them to buy MMM shares.

+1 I agree.
What Russian doesn't love easy money...

Actually, Mavrodi is a smart man. He played on human greed. People are to blame themselves. No one forced them to buy MMM shares.

at the time when the USSR collapsed, people (a mass of people is meant) did not know such a concept as a scam... that's why they trusted this man very easily...
After all, there was even advertising for it on TV. shown on TV - means approved by the state and everything there is fine! hence such a mass of those who trusted
during the Soviet period, people got used to the fact that everything was decided for them.. take the money and earn it for us...
and the new world, in which the people had not learned to live, were not educated to the proper extent..

hence the conclusion! Mavrodi simply cannot be a hero!!! he is a nasal prick who used the ignorance of citizens. people like him should be wiped out!!!

Just a heads-up. Please try to keep all comments within the bounds of polite language. Also, try to avoid using profanity when communicating with each other. Otherwise, this thread will suffer the same fate as its predecessors.

In the time when the USSR collapsed, people (and I mean a lot of people) didn't know the concept of a scam... so they easily trusted this person...

Exactly. It's just that those who trusted this scoundrel were the first casualties on a minefield. The rest, of course, having seen the victims, became wiser.

You, Moor, go tell the pensioners about Mavrodi's genius, those who were trying to survive against the backdrop of a collapsing economy and completely insane inflation and bought shares. Just bring your documents with you, otherwise they might not be able to identify the body from the fragments.:smile04:

After all, there was even an advertisement for it on television. If it's shown on TV, it means it's approved by the state, and everything is fine there! That's why so many people trusted it.

Moreover, MMM's advertisement was on the "time signal" service, i.e., the automated time service! A person dials 100, and before the time signal, they hear the following message: "MMM share price: today, MMM shares are worth ... rubles, yesterday they were worth ... rubles." The price, of course, was increasing. I wonder how many of today's smart people would be able to resist such brainwashing.

By the way, let's acknowledge the Russian state as the most "genius" scammer. Let's remember the 1998 default.

Added 5 minutes later

In general, Mavrodi is a smart person. He played on people's greed. People are to blame themselves. No one forced them to buy MMM shares.

Indeed, there is no limit to human stupidity. And are you aware that in the USA and Europe, many people live off the income from stocks? Only there can people afford to pay for the services of a stockbroker who will advise them that it is worth investing money in oil (for example), and not in thin air (as in the case of MMM).
And by putting money in a bank and receiving interest, aren't you also looking for an easy way to make money? And when choosing a bank to keep your money in, do you have inside information about the bank's reliability? But if the bank disappears tomorrow with all the deposits, including your hard-earned money, there will be just as many smart people as you, and they will say about you: it's your own fault, greed ruined you.

P.S. And in general, keep your money in mittens. :smile54:

You, Mavr, go tell the pensioners about Mavrodi's genius, those who tried to survive against the backdrop of a collapsing economy and completely insane inflation and bought shares. But bring your documents with you, otherwise they might not be able to identify the body from the fragments.:smile04:

Slonysh, I would kill him myself if I met him. He is a really smart person, and his intellectual abilities deserve respect.

Maybe Chikatilo also had extraordinary mental abilities, for example. But I don't have enough misanthropy to admire them. I just can't.

By the way, I agree with Dark Mavr here. Chikatilo was a serial killer, and by definition, he couldn't have had a well-developed brain. Mavrodi undoubtedly deserves respect for his thoughtfulness, but that doesn't mean he should be excused.

By the way, I agree with Dark Mavr here. Chikatilo was a serial killer, and by definition, couldn't have had a well-developed brain. Mavrodi undoubtedly deserves respect for his thoughtfulness, but that doesn't mean he should be excused.

Thoughtfulness? Genius? Mavrodi???...no, guys, you're wrong...
In that situation, it was enough to be educated, have connections at the top, and support from foreigners (to get out of there)...
so there's no talk of genius here, he was just a level more educated and understood the situation and the laws...

Creating such an intricate plot requires a lot of planning. I'm not saying he's a genius or that he should be excused, but reason always deserves respect.

Chikatilo was a serial killer, and by definition, he couldn't have had a well-developed brain.

Really? Why is that? Is there any data about widespread intellectual disability among serial killers?:eek: